Leaving Manchester United is justified by Champions League final place, says Paul Pogba

Leaving Manchester United is justified by Champions League final place, says Paul Pogba

Independent.ie

Paul Pogba has insisted he was right to leave Manchester United for Juventus after saying that Saturday’s Champions League final against Barcelona justifies his decision to walk out on Sir Alex Ferguson.

Paul Pogba has insisted he was right to leave Manchester United for Juventus after saying that Saturday’s Champions League final against Barcelona justifies his decision to walk out on Sir Alex Ferguson.

The Juventus midfielder has emerged as one of the most highly-rated youngsters in the game since moving to Turin in the summer of 2012 following a contract stand-off with United.

And having become a key figure in Massimiliano Allegri’s team, which won a fourth successive Serie A title this season, the 23-year-old is now at the centre of a £60m race for his signature involving Real Madrid, Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester City and United.

But despite United’s interest in re-signing the France international, Pogba insists he made the right decision when choosing to leave Old Trafford following Ferguson’s failure to reward his progress with first-team football.

“Yes, for sure, I am happy with how my time has gone in Turin,” Pogba said. “I don’t regret it at all. I am very happy here and I enjoy it.

“I am in a Champions League final with Juventus, not Manchester, so things have worked out very well for me.”

With Barcelona understood to be front-runners to sign Pogba – the Spanish champions are prepared to strike a deal this summer ahead of Pogba’s arrival in January in order to circumvent their current transfer embargo – Saturday’s match against Luis Enrique’s team in Berlin could prove crucial in deciding his next destination.

City are prepared to pay Juventus’s asking price for the player, while Real are determined to bolster their squad after ending the season trophyless and having sacked manager Carlo Ancelotti.

But with uncertainty surrounding his future, Pogba claims he will not allow anything to distract from his focus before Saturday’s game.

“Let people think what they want to think,” Pogba said, when asked whether the Champions League final would be his last game for Juventus. “This is a final, it is a huge final for me, and I am just focused on that.”